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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145226">Falling</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hot4itachi/pseuds/hot4itachi'>hot4itachi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Falling [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>King's Maker (Webcomic)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Sports, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, M/M, Slow Burn, uhhh i don't know what else to tag bye</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:15:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,170</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28145226</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hot4itachi/pseuds/hot4itachi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Every time Wolfgang steps onto the track, he chases after a familiar high. He chases that high to college, a freshman athlete trying to adjust to his new environment and new teammates. But who is that? That person with the long beautiful legs pole vaulting into the air defying gravity. Wolfgang doesn't know, but he'll soon be falling into a new indescribable high.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Wolfgang Goldenleonard/Shin Soohyuk</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Falling [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2061840</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Falling</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! I really hope to have fun with this fic :) it's been a while since i've been this dedicated to write something. i guess king's maker is just that powerful. i want to thank @/kiingsmaker on twitter for the overwhelming support and help on this fic! hope you enjoy it :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Placing his fingers on the starting line Wolfgang backed up onto the starting blocks. He felt a rush of adrenaline flow through him as the thrill of running his final race as a senior at North Central High ran through him. This 100 meter sprint was his last hope of breaking the school record.  The name on the board of the gymnasium hadn’t been changed since 1998 and it was Wolfgang’s final chance to change that. He practiced hard all season for this moment.</p><p>He felt a rush of wind, the breeze slightly chilled on his sweaty skin as he placed his feet firmly into position. With one knee on the ground, he sunk his fingertips into the familiar synthetic rubber of the track and waited for his signal from the starter. He looked around at who he was up against and knew it wasn’t going to be an easy race. His four years as a high school athlete introduced him to these runners. He knew their names and their faces. They had been his rivals since he was a freshman— this wasn’t going to be easy. He brought his attention back to himself; <em>you’ve got this. </em>He took in a deep breath and exhaled completely, relaxing his body.</p><p>“On your marks!” Wolfgang tensed, digging his fingers harder into the track and raising onto the balls of his feet. “Set!” He lifted his hips, heartbeat racing as he anticipated what was coming next. He set his eyes on the finish line.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>POW!</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>As soon as the starting pistol fired, he exploded off, shoving himself forward onto the track and towards his goal. He could feel the spikes of his shoes digging into the ground below him as he pushed himself forwards. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the other runners holding their own beside him. He felt a sudden pierce of anxiety. He squeezed his eyes together and focused on his breathing,<em> Only a little further! </em></p><p>He felt a rush  flow throughout his body and as he pushed off his right foot with a boost of energy, he began inching ahead of the others. His whole body was tense as he pushed his muscles further than ever before. With the finish line only a few feet away, he relaxed his muscles and snapped his head forward, letting gravity pull him over the finish line. He didn’t look back and gave himself time to stop, jogging past the finish line. When he turned around, he saw the other runners pass the finish line, hands over their heads as they battled their lungs for more air.</p><p>He eagerly looked at his coach, eyes hopeful and wide. Her face was blank as she stared at her timer. <em>Fuck! His head dropped low, hands on his hips as he began to slow to a stop. </em>He didn’t win, after all this extra practice these past months, <em>he didn’t fucking win</em>. Out of frustration, he began to turn and walk away—</p><p>“Wolfgang!” His coach called and he turned to see her giddy expression, mouth open in shock.</p><p>Wolfgang couldn’t move as he heard the words coming out of the speaker, echoing in the distance, “With a new personal record and breaking the standing 1998 North Central High record, Wolfgang Goldenleonard is the winner with a time of 10.58 seconds! Amazing!”</p><p>He felt sudden relief and tears began to stream his face as he was now named the fastest high school 100 meter dasher in his entire province.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>Four months later…</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Can you either turn the channel or play something that isn’t mainstream garbage?” Randolph complained, hands gripping the steering wheel harder in annoyance.</p><p>Wolfgang laughed at his brother, “You get  irritated so easily. It’s kind of amusing.” His brother groaned and Wolfgang didn’t waste any more time as he grabbed the aux cord and shoved it into his phone, “Okay okay, just focus on the road. I don’t want to die before our first day at college.”</p><p>Wolfgang opened his play list and started playing a song that would sooth Randolph and make him loosen that damn iron grip he had on the wheel. As the song made its way through the speakers, Wolfgang started to tap his foot to the beat as he thought about what awaited him.</p><p>He was nervous about being in college. As a freshman, he has to adjust to new things like finding classrooms, making new friends, and most importantly his new team. College athletes are inevitably better than high school athletes. He would be lying to himself is he said he wasn’t worried about someone being better than him. Someone who could make him look like nothing, even though his name was plastered onto the school records board at his old high school and still circulating in the newspapers. What if everyone he has raced up until now weren’t even decent runners and he was slower than he thought. Sure— 10.58 seconds is fast for a school student to run in the 100m, but it wasn’t the fastest. <em>It might as well have been 11 seconds. </em></p><p>He clenched his jaw and looked out the window as he thought of all the different things that could possibly go wrong for him with his new team. He glanced over at Randolph and smiled as he saw his brother nodding his head slightly to the music, “Hey, Randolph?”</p><p>His brother glanced at him and back at the road, “Hey, Wolfgang.”</p><p>Wolfgang turned the music down making it basically inaudible, “Are you nervous at all?” Randolph gave a confused expression which made Wolfgang elaborate, “Ya know, the new team, new people to go up against at meets. People with better times and distances, stuff like that.”</p><p>Randolph sighed, “As much as I want to tell you that you’re being ridiculous, I can’t. There’s bound to be people who are better than us, especially since these people will be older than us. They’re more experienced.” Wolfgang started to frown. He looked at his brother who was biting the inside of his cheek, hiding his own anxiety. Of course his brother was nervous too, he was worried about other people having better marks than him in shot put. Wolfgang felt a nudge against his shoulder, “Hey, what happened to my confident brother? You said months before our final meet in high school that you would break the record, and you did! You’re fucking fast, I bet you’ll be the fastest on the new team.” Wolfgang smiled, his brother isn’t usually this in touch with his soft side, but he’s glad Randolph reassured him.</p><p>“You’re right, and I bet you can throw that ball further than anyone.”</p><p>Randolph smirked at himself, “Of course I can, I’m fucking amazing.” Wolfgang laughed and felt his anxiety lessen as the two continued talking about their favorite sport.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>“Do you two need help?” A man around their age asked. The two were both carrying totes from their car as they made their way into their resident hall.</p><p>“Does it look like we need help?”, Randolph spat. The stranger winced and turned around, now asking someone else if they needed help with anything.</p><p>Wolfgang rolled his eyes, “Now what was the point of acting like that? He’s obviously here to help people move in, don’t scare our upperclassmen.”</p><p>Randolph sat his things on the ground at the front desk as he grabbed their dorm keys and shoved them into his pocket, “That scrawny thing wasn’t going to be of any help anyways.”</p><p>Wolfgang ignored him and followed him towards their room and as they walked down the hallway, he took in his new environment. People were walking past them in both directions. New faces moving into rooms so close to him. He wasn’t used to so many people, but it was making him excited. He had a fresh start in a new place. He was ready to make new friends and be a part of the college life.</p><p>Wolfgang stopped walking as they reached their dorm room, and he noticed their names written on a small piece of paper in the shape of a flower taped to the door.</p><p>Randolph instantly ripped the one with his name off the door, “So fucking tacky.” Randolph stuck the key into the door and opened it, revealing their new living space.</p><p>Wolfgang lit up, “Wow, it’s bigger than I thought it was going to be!”</p><p>He was admiring the new space when Randolph said, “Are you kidding? It looks like a prison cell in here.”</p><p>Wolfgang sighed, “Why do you always bring the mood down?”</p><p>His brother sat the totes down and put his hands on his hips, “We paid all this tuition, and they can’t even give us normal walls? What bullshit is that?” Wolfgang ignored his brothers frustration and started unpacking his things.</p><p>Once he was settling in, him and his brother took a break and laid on their beds as they waited for the short, mandatory meeting with their RA. Wolfgang unlocked his phone and pulled up the schedule with his classes. Since he was an athlete, he was allowed to have less classes which left him with the standard English literature class, algebra, and intro to biology. He already had a headache just thinking about it. He was good at sports, <em>really</em> good. But he always struggled in high school to keep the GPA he needed to stay on the team. He knew this wasn’t going to be easy. <em>Maybe I can get a tutor</em>.</p><p>The meeting with the RA and other residents was rather short. Mainly going over expectations and quiet hours. The RA finished the meeting with her final thought, “Please just respect the people around you, we’re all just trying to get through the semester so let’s not have any problems. You’re free to go!” Randolph had already gotten up and left as their RA was finishing her last portion of the meeting.</p><p>Wolfgang stood up and headed back to his dorm to grab his things for his first track practice as a college freshman. Approaching his room, he noticed a person walking into the room across from him. He barely caught a glimpse, but he noticed he was wearing a track uniform and he thought about introducing himself later if they were on the track team together. The door closed behind the stranger and before Wolfgang walked into his room, he looked at the door across the hall and read the names on the cut out pieces of paper similar to the ones on his own door. <em>Shin and Sys. I wonder which one he was?</em></p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Duffle bag slung over his shoulder, he made his way to the new track he’s going to have to grow familiar with. He was nervous but those nerves eventually turned into excitement as he walked onto the track and towards his new team in the middle of the field. Everyone was already talking with one another as if they had known each other for years. He scanned the field and noticed his brother sitting on one of the benches by himself.</p><p>He made his way over to him and before he could say anything his brother said, “They’re such an annoyance already.” Wolfgang laughed, always surprised on how every little thing could damn this guy’s mood.</p><p>“What did they do that’s got you so riled up already?” Wolfgang asked.</p><p>His brother stood up, “Apparently they’re all upperclassmen. They won’t shut up about hoping to see some incoming freshmen girls joining the team.”</p><p>Wolfgang felt his stomach flip, <em>They’re all upperclassmen? </em>Anxiety ate at him as he realized that his new teammates were already a year or more experienced than him. He’s not sure why he thought everyone on the team were going to be freshman, but the idea of him being behind didn’t sit well with him. The idea of failure terrified him.</p><p>Their new coach blew his whistle and Wolfgang made his way over with his brother. The coach motioned for them to all have a seat on the grass and they all sat together facing forward as his new coach spoke to the group.</p><p>“We have two new teammates this year! Why don’t you both introduce yourself and tell us why you like this sport.” His coach was small, but muscular. He wondered if his new coach was going to be as good as his last one.</p><p>The coach made a gesture at Randolph, making him stand up and begin his introduction. “Hi, I’m Randolph. I only like doing field events, specifically shot put.”</p><p>He went to sit down, but the coach shook his head, “You forget to mention why you like track and field, kiddo.” Randolph rolled his eyes slightly at being referred to as kiddo, but Wolfgang didn’t think anyone noticed.</p><p>Randolph cleared his throat, “Uh, I don’t know. I’m just good at it. Every time I throw that metal ball as far as I can, it fuels something inside me.” Randolph shrugged his shoulders and sat back into his spot on the grass.</p><p>Everyone mumbled a bit and the couch let out a laugh, “Well, Randolph, I believe that thing you felt was passion!” He now looked at Wolfgang and gave a slight nod with a genuine smile. Wolfgang stood up, noticing everyone’s eyes watching him.</p><p>“Hey everyone, my name’s Wolfgang. I’m a sprinter, but I like to occasionally run long distance. Running for me is like—" Everyone was quiet and watched him intently, waiting for him to continue. He didn’t know how to explain his passion for running, and as he was trying think of what to say.</p><p>He saw someone running on the track, smiling as if they were having the time of their life even though the stranger was sweating bullets. The man’s chest was heaving as he paced himself forward towards his own personal goal. He watched as the stranger ran past the finish line and checked his own watch, smiling ear to ear as he placed a new personal record.</p><p>Wolfgang knew that feeling too well and he thought about his last race in high school as he began to ramble, “Running makes me feel like I’m flying. It’s so cliché to say but that’s truly what it feels like. When I’m running, it’s like a switch flips in my body and all of a sudden my chest feels wide open like those dreams you have where you’re soaring over a city. Everything in my body is suddenly in rhythm and time seems to speed up but also stand still. I feel a rush of euphoria and everything fades away as I reach the finish line.” He could have kept going but he quit talking when he noticed the faces on his new teammates. They were all smiling as if he described the feeling that they also felt. He cleared his throat as he moved to sit down, everyone’s eyes still on him.</p><p>“That was wonderful! I’m happy to hear someone as young as you are that passionate about running. I remember when I used to feel like that. But then I got old and my joints hurt too much!” Wolfgang smiled at his coach and felt as if he was going to learn a lot being on this team.</p><p>The coach introduced himself as Coach Theodore and he began talking about the importance of teamwork among many other things. As the Coach went on he began speaking of something that left Wolfgang with a lot of worrisome thoughts, “Now, I know this track and field, but you’re still in college. That means you must keep your grades up. If I hear from anyone’s professors that your grades are slipping, I won’t allow you to come to meets until your grades improve. Is that clear?” Everyone nodded with a ‘Yes, sir!’ and the Coach continued, “Okay, so, the rest of practice is going to just be you doing whatever you want for the next hour. Practice throwing, jumping, running, hurdling, passing batons or whatever else you want. The real practice starts tomorrow as we’ll find out where I want to place everyone.” His coach held up his phone, “I’ll be sending everyone an email. You’ll need to put your name and what races and events you’re interested in. Don’t forget to do this before practice tomorrow.” Another ‘Yes, sir!’ from the team and with that their Coach left the group to finish their practice.</p><p>With only 20 minutes left of practice, Wolfgang was already tired. He pushed himself to work on his time in the 100 meter dash, but he couldn’t beat his personal record. His muscles were tight and his shorts were soaked with sweat. He decided to call it a day and finish with some stretches. He needed a cold shower. He sat down on the artificial grass of the field and began stretching. Two other teammates were standing near him and he overheard their conversation.</p><p>“Shin’s the team captain again this year?” One of them asked. Wolfgang recognized the familiar name, <em>So the guy across the hall is the team captain?</em></p><p>“Yeah, it really suits him though. Remember when he won at states last year? That was <em>insane</em>. I can’t believe he could clear such a height. 15 feet is amazing!”, the other exclaimed.</p><p>“Yeah, but still, don’t you think a senior should be team captain? He’s only a sophomore like us.”  </p><p>“Exactly, he’s <em>only</em> a sophomore. He’s better than the upperclassmen! But, don’t tell anyone I said that or coach Theo will make me run a mile.” His new teammate seemed to be done talking until he yelled, “Look! There he goes! You can’t tell me he isn’t fit to be team captain as he clears that bar!”</p><p>With that Wolfgang looked up towards his new teammate whose face was painted with a smile as he pointed at the direction of the team captain. Wolfgang followed with his eyes the direction he was pointing, and he felt a rush of wind. He watched as his new team captain ran in long strides down the run way, a long flexible pole extended in front of him. He planted the end of the pole into the vault box and his body began to swing upward in one effortless motion. He ejected his body completely from the pole and extended long, gorgeous legs while moving his hips upwards. He swiftly turned and arched his back effortlessly over the cross bar as if he was defying gravity and kicked his legs up, careful to not knock over the bar. His slim body dropped through the air and landed in the center of the foam mats beneath him, limbs spread and chest rising and falling. Wolfgang watched as the man named Shin sat up and climbed down from the mats. Wolfgang wasn’t sure why, but curiosity stirred inside him and he found himself standing up and walking in the direction of his new team captain.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ahhhh, i hope you're excited for this story to continue because i am!! leave a comment if you'd like! you can head over on twitter to my page for more updates on this fic @/wolfgangstits (yes, tits. i said what i said)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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